A Politico-Media Nexus in the Globalizing World: A Comparative Study on Compromised Agenda-Driven Media

The media landscape is experiencing seismic shifts in the wake of economic crises, with certain media entities, especially those embracing digital transformation and benefiting the deep-pocketed investors, managing to survive and thrive. Conversely, independent journalism, particularly beyond the Western world, faces acute financial challenges. In today's globalized world, the media significantly impacts how we receive and process information. Corporate media has an agenda that determines what information is shared with the public because there is a strong affinity between the media and political organizations. The book chapter offers an analysis of how governments strategically employ funding mechanisms to exert control over the media. It scrutinizes the trends whereby governments allocate financial resources to media outlets that align with their own interests and objectives, be they political, ideological, or commercial, while sidelining independent journalism. It has been reported through different studies that the political and media nexus is damaging the free press in a systematic way. The book chapter primarily focused on an in-depth analysis of provisions pertaining to press freedom in diverse jurisdictions. The book chapter further takes into account on how globally the political parties are controlling media, both directly and indirectly, to fulfill their agenda. In the context of India, the media's role as a potent instrument in shaping public opinion and fostering democracy is under scrutiny. Freedom of the press is the fulcrum upon which the scales of truth and accountability delicately balance, and the guardian of societal enlightenment. The constraints placed upon freedom of the press aren't confined to India alone; they extend to countries like China and Russia, where the majority of media outlets operate under governmental control. In stark contrast, the United Kingdom, lacking a formal written provision for press freedom, excels in upholding this fundamental liberty. © The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2024.